Just do it

While “Just Do It” has gained notoriety by arguably being once of the most recognizable slogans in the world, I don’t think it’s acknowledged as truly one of the best three words of advice that one could give themselves, or someone else. Growing up, “just do it” was a significant staple in my childhood, though not in the form of shoes being pushed upon me. My parents, as parents do, understand relatively well what their children were capable of and pushed us to achieve up to those capabilities. When I would say things like “I think it’s fine if I try, but don’t achieve x, y, z, ” my parents would quote Yoda (while incidentally not explaining the Yoda reference). I think James has seen all the Star Wars and the first three VHS were definitely prevalent in my house growing up, but I don’t think I can claim watching on. “Do or do not. There is no try.” Going to deeply into this quote could present issues on its face – you can’t do everything, etc., but understanding the quote and deploying it throughout my adulthood has certainly been a consistent push for me.

We, as humans, spend so much time talking about things and much less time doing them which contributes to the overwhelming anxiety people feel about their tasks continuing to stack up. When your list gets to a mountain, it’s hard to remember to take that one step, take that one boulder off the pile because movement creates momentum and momentum creates completion. I continue to employ the phrase daily – so much so that it lead me to writing this morning. I didn’t create baby books for the kids and in a lot of ways, I thought that my blog could be my love letters to my children. Whether the ongoing privacy concerns will alter the way this is written will present itself shortly, I suppose, but I was having trouble getting to the blog. Just do it. Do or do not, there is no try. Do I wish there was more time in the day? Yes, but my free will means that with any spare second, it is my choice what to do. This morning’s choices in the 0400-500 hour were to read a portion of my book, write here, or cook tonight’s dinner. I’d like to choose writing more. Another apt statement that a friend of mine’s father used to say was that “You can have anything, but you can’t have everything.”

Both of these statements congeal to form a mold over my mind that emphasizes how important choice is in our lives. The resource is time. It’s a resource that we can agree – on all sides of the political spectrum – is non-renewable and depletes at a rapid rate. How do you want to use it?